I just inserted the King Kong (2005) DVD into my iMac, and I'm using iSkysoft Media Converter to rip the DVD. The source is listed as enhanced definition 856 x 480 (The DVD), and the target video output is listed as 1280 x 720. Should I just make the output 856 x 480 to match the input? Or am I gaining something by ripping to 1280 x 720?

The actual signal aspect ratio (SAR) of that DVD is 720x480, with a flag in the stream metadata set for 16:9 display aspect ratio (DAR). This is what you should rip it to. Ripping it to any other resolution means the ripping/converting program is doing untold pleasurable damage to it, which is a big no-no.

For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".

I'd make the output 856x480 but I've never used the software in question.

Most of the time the video will be upscaled to 720p or 1080p on playback (assume you're using a HD TV) but there's generally no advantage to upscaling before re-encoding.

For the record..... most people here consider the process of copying the original video to a PC as "ripping". Re-encoding it (converting) is a separate process, although there's plenty of software which can do both. There's nothing wrong with re-encoding. Most of us do it (including myself) for various reasons, such as reducing the file size, but it is possible to rip the DVD video "as-is" without re-encoding it. If you were to re-encode it at 720p I'd imagine it'd at least partially negate one of the main reasons for re-encoding........ to reduce the file size.

I'd make the output 856x480 but I've never used the software in question.

Most of the time the video will be upscaled to 720p or 1080p on playback (assume you're using a HD TV) but there's generally no advantage to upscaling before re-encoding.

For the record..... most people here consider the process of copying the original video to a PC as "ripping". Re-encoding it (converting) is a separate process, although there's plenty of software which can do both. There's nothing wrong with re-encoding. Most of us do it (including myself) for various reasons, such as reducing the file size, but it is possible to rip the DVD video "as-is" without re-encoding it. If you were to re-encode it at 720p I'd imagine it'd at least partially negate one of the main reasons for re-encoding........ to reduce the file size.

I was under the impression that the DVD player performed the upscaling. Are you saying if I rip a movie to say 856 x 480, then stream from my Plex media server, it will be upscaled to 720i by my HD TV?

The most of crispy & crystal clear Hollywood Movies BluRays are encoded and authored from 4K film-scanned resolution (3840 x 2160) source which has 8,294,400 pixels; exactly 4 times more than 1080p resolution. While some are encoded and authored from 2K scanned source as well but difference is noticeable even in original blurays.

You can try 1:1 1:2 and 1:4 enlargement by applying various filter to shadow various side effects. You can experiment on short sample. On smaller screen upscaling 720x480 -> 1280 x 720 probably look ok, difficult to notice difference by human naked eyes. But on 70" inch large screen it will fall apart by blocky-ness. Hardware upscaling is totally different than you perform on pc.

I still remember the days when masters explained and taught me about the whole process in details. With all due respect, I do miss the masters.

Are you saying if I rip a movie to say 856 x 480, then stream from my Plex media server, it will be upscaled to 720i by my HD TV?

Not to 720i, since there's no such thing as upscaled 720i. It'll be upscaled to the resolution of your TV set. If you have a 1080p set, that'll be the upscaled resolution. Like the others, I think you're wasting time and effort converting/upscaling to 720p.

What I meant when I referred to the video being upscaled on playback, is if you're using a HD TV, it's got to be upscaled at some stage. If the playback device connects to the TV at it's maximum resolution (ie 1080p), then the playback device must be doing the upscaling. If it's connecting at a lower resolution (ie 480p) then the TV would need to do it. As far as I know most DVD players don't upscale (although there are models which do and they're probably more common these days).

I'm no expert on standalone players. I use my PC for playback most of the time, connected to the TV at 1080p. Therefore the player (MPC-HC) must do the upscaling. The other TV in the house spends most of it's time playing video directly via USB, so it's mostly doing the upscaling. I've set the Bluray player to always output 1080p so therefore it upscales DVDs.

Would there be any advantage to upscaling a DVD to 720p when encoding, compared to encoding it at it's current resolution and upscaling it later? I can't say I've every tried it. but I seriously doubt it. The file size would need to be larger (at the same quality) and if there's any resizing artefacts, you'll be encoding them. And if the TV is 1080p it'll still need to be upscaled a second time at some stage....

NTSC DVDs have a resolution of 720x480 and they're stretched to the correct aspect ratio (and upscaled if need be) on playback. In a perfect world you'd always encode them the same way.... 720x480 which is stretched to the correct aspect ratio on playback, upscaled if need be, and if you're always using a PC for playback that shouldn't be a problem. If hard drive space isn't an issue and you have no other reason for re-encoding you could rip the disc with the video/audio untouched. I'm not familiar with Mac software but I'm pretty sure there's a Mac version of MakeMKV which will give you the original 720x480 video in an MKV file. Other Mac users may be able to recommend alternatives (or the program you're using might have a "ripping only" mode).

I re-encode DVDs myself and for NTSC I would resize to something like 854x480, but that's because a couple of players in this house don't support anamorphic video (they don't automatically stretch the 720x480 encoded video to the correct aspect ratio on playback) so I stretch it and then re-encode it, but I don't upscale it any further.

There is no point in wasting time and cpu power in crappy encodes.
OP can still satisfy HD ego on smaller screens. Nothing is wrong when is not visible on smaller screen.

Originally posted by hello_hello

NTSC DVDs have a resolution of 720x480 and they're stretched to the correct aspect ratio (and upscaled if need be) on playback. In a perfect world you'd always encode them the same way.... 720x480 which is stretched to the correct aspect ratio on playback,

All HD PAR=1:1 normally.

I guess, one of master is already landed on Helli-pad of VH. The master can focus more lights - effects and side effect of upscaling, if not too busy.